To improve the accessibility of robotics, we propose a design and fabrication strategy to build low-cost electromechanical systems for robotic devices. Our method, based on origami-inspired cut-and-fold and E-textiles techniques, aims at minimizing the resources for robot creation. Specifically, we explore techniques to create robots with the resources restricted to single-layer sheets (e.g., polyester film) and conductive sewing threads. To demonstrate our strategy’s feasibility, these techniques are successfully integrated into an electromechanical oscillator (about 0.40 USD), which can generate electrical oscillation under constant-current power and potentially be used as a simple robot controller in lieu of additional external electronics.

为了提高机器人技术的可及性，我们提出了一种设计和制造策略，以构建用于机器人设备的低成本机电系统。我们的方法基于受折纸启发的剪切折叠和电子纺织品技术，旨在最大限度地减少机器人创建的资源。具体来说，我们探索了利用仅限于单层片材（例如聚酯薄膜）和导电缝纫线的资源来创建机器人的技术。为了证明我们的策略的可行性，这些技术被成功地集成到机电振荡器（约 0.40 美元）中，它可以在恒流电源下产生电振荡，并有可能用作简单的机器人控制器来代替额外的外部电子设备。